Thunder vs. Hulk, the Power of Armament Haki!

Boom-crack—!

Thunder descended from the heavens like divine punishment!

The blinding lightning not only split open the earth, but seemed to strike straight into the hearts of everyone who witnessed the scene.

The soldiers who had been fleeing in panic even forgot to run for the moment, staring dumbfounded at the figure who had suddenly appeared in the center of the battlefield, destructive arcs of electricity coiling around his body.

Through his binoculars, General Ross fixed his single eye on Lin Ye, his jaw nearly dropping. The blurry energy form from the desert satellite footage had now appeared before him in the flesh, and the visual impact far surpassed any report! Moreover, the other man seemed to be here for Hulk?

"General! That is..." the adjutant beside him said in a trembling voice.

"Shut up! Stay alert! All units, fall back! No one fires without my orders!" Ross swiftly issued his commands, deciding to wait and see. This mysterious man's intentions were unclear, but at least for now, he had stopped Hulk!

Hulk was utterly enraged by the sudden attack and blinding light. He abandoned his original target, his scarlet eyes locking tightly onto Lin Ye, this new challenger radiating a powerful energy signature!

"Roar—!!!"

Hulk let out an earth-shaking roar. His massive green body burst forth with terrifying speed, charging toward Lin Ye like a humanoid tank. His millstone-sized fist smashed down with enough force to crush everything in its path! The force of the punch even sent shattered stones flying from the ground!

"Good timing!"

Lin Ye neither dodged nor retreated, lightning flickering in his eyes. This was the perfect chance to test the limits of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit on this big guy!

"20 Million Volts!"

Crackle—!

A terrifying high-voltage current erupted from Lin Ye's body in an instant, forming a massive pillar of lightning that blasted head-on into the charging Hulk!

Boom!

The lightning pillar struck Hulk squarely in the chest, erupting in blinding light and a deafening crash! The powerful impact abruptly stalled Hulk's charge. Electric snakes writhed across his huge body, blackening patches of muscle as wisps of smoke rose from them.

Yet Hulk merely shook his head. Beneath his green skin seemed to lie endless vitality and rage, and the charred marks were recovering at a visible rate! The pain only made him angrier!

"Just as tough as expected!" Lin Ye was not surprised. Hulk's magical and physical resistance were both absurdly high.

"Hulk smash you!" Hulk charged again through the lingering current, his fist hurtling toward Lin Ye's head even faster than before.

Lin Ye instantly used Elementalization, transforming into lightning and vanishing from the spot.

Hulk's punch missed, and the immense force smashed a huge crater into the ground.

The next second, Lin Ye appeared in the air behind Hulk.

"30 Million Volts Beast!"

Even more condensed and violent lightning energy took the form of a savage giant beast, roaring as it slammed into Hulk's back!

Rumble!

Hulk staggered from the impact and fell forward, his back scorched black once more. But he immediately swung back with a grab, moving at an astonishing speed and nearly touching Lin Ye's elemental body.

"His speed is this fast too?" Lin Ye dodged again, frowning slightly. Pure energy bombardment seemed to have limited effect. It could injure Hulk, but Hulk's regeneration and the fact that he grew stronger the angrier he became were simply too overpowered.

"Let's try this! Lightning Metallurgy!" Lin Ye brought his hands together. Powerful currents generated extreme heat, instantly melting the scattered tank wreckage and weapons on the ground into molten iron. Under his control, it transformed into countless sharp metal spears, coated in high-voltage lightning, that shot toward Hulk like a torrential storm!

Thud, thud, thud, thud!

This time, the attack worked! The metal spears, infused with the rudimentary form of Armament Haki and lightning, possessed far greater penetrating power than pure energy and finally pierced Hulk's tough skin!

Though they did not sink in deeply and were quickly forced out by Hulk's powerful muscles, the pain they inflicted was very real!

"Argh!!!" Hulk let out a pained roar. His green eyes grew even more bloodshot from fury, and his body seemed to swell another size! He yanked one of the iron spears from his body and hurled it viciously at Lin Ye. The force was so immense that its shriek through the air was piercing!

Lin Ye easily avoided it, but his expression grew more serious. Hulk's strength and rage were still increasing!

I can't drag this out any longer.

Just as he was about to use a more powerful method, the system notification sounded:

[Ding! Detected that the host is fighting a high-threat target and has successfully combined multiple abilities.]

[Options triggered:]

[Option One: End the battle quickly. Use a powerful lightning strike exceeding 50 million volts to severely injure Hulk, but this may cause widespread destruction and risk killing Dr. Banner within Hulk. Reward: [Minor increase in Rumble-Rumble Fruit development], [Extreme awe from General Ross].]

[Option Two: Control and suppress. Use lightning speed and paralysis effects, combined with the environment, to attempt to restrain Hulk and keep him under control until Dr. Banner recovers. Reward: [Mastery of electromagnetic restraint techniques], [Deep affection from Dr. Banner].]

[Option Three: Lure him away from the city and fight again in an uninhabited area, avoiding harm to civilians and demonstrating controllability. Reward: [Increased Observation Haki range], [Minor increase in S.H.I.E.L.D. trust].]

As the options appeared, Hulk roared and charged again, his massive fist already right before Lin Ye!

In that split second, Lin Ye made his choice!

"Option Two!"

What he wanted was the goodwill of Dr. Banner, a future super-scientist and potential ally! As for General Ross's awe? He would naturally have that after the battle!

Faced with Hulk's rage-filled strike, Lin Ye did not completely evade it this time!

"Armament Haki!"

Buzz! A jet-black metallic sheen instantly covered his right arm, powerful defensive strength stacking with the physical enhancement granted by the Rumble-Rumble Fruit!

He actually chose to take Hulk's punch head-on!

Bang!!!

An incomparably dull boom erupted! A visible shockwave spread outward from where their fists met, blowing away every speck of dust around them!

The ground beneath Lin Ye's feet cracked inch by inch, but he stood as steady as a mountain. His Armament Haki-covered arm firmly blocked Hulk's giant fist, a blow powerful enough to flatten a tank!

A trace of confusion flashed through Hulk's scarlet eyes. He seemed unable to understand how this "little bug" had caught his punch.

"Big guy, my turn!" Lin Ye sneered, clenching his Armament Haki-covered fist.

"100 Million Volts Armament Destruction!"

He did not release the lightning outward. Instead, at the instant of contact through Armament Haki, he forcibly drove the terrifyingly powerful high-voltage current into Hulk's arm like countless fine needles!

"Argh, argh, argh, argh—!!!"

Hulk let out an unprecedentedly miserable scream! He could resist external attacks with his muscles and skin, but this destructive force erupting from within acted directly on his nerves and muscle tissue, bringing devastating pain!

His enormous body convulsed violently. His entire arm instantly turned black and numb, temporarily losing all sensation!

Seizing the opportunity, Lin Ye moved like lightning and instantly circled behind Hulk.

"Maximum Power Restraint!"

He pressed both hands against Hulk's broad back and unleashed his lightning powers at full force. Yet this time, it was no longer destruction, but conversion into a powerful electromagnetic field! The abundant iron elements and bioelectricity in Hulk's body became the best conductors!

Crackle, crackle, crackle—!

The blue-white arcs were no longer wild attacks. Instead, they became countless tough lightning chains that instantly wrapped around Hulk's entire body, forming a massive electromagnetic cage! Powerful magnetism and electric currents interfered with Hulk's neural signals and muscle movements!

Hulk struggled desperately. His terrifying brute strength even caused the electromagnetic field to distort and flicker. But after suffering internal damage, with one arm temporarily disabled and lightning continuously paralyzing him, his power could not fully erupt for the moment. He was held firmly in place and could only let out unwilling roars.

At the edge of the battlefield, there was dead silence.

Every soldier, including General Ross, was stunned senseless.

That green monster who had inflicted such heavy losses on them and whom they had been helpless against had actually... been suppressed by that mysterious man?! And he had done it by taking Hulk head-on before forcibly restraining him!

Ross's breathing became heavy, his eyes filled with shock, greed, and a trace of fear. Such power! If it could be used by the military...

In the distance, a cloaked Quinjet silently circled overhead.

Inside the aircraft, Natasha and Coulson watched the scene below through the surveillance screens, their expressions equally stunned.

"Sir, did you see that?" Natasha took a deep breath. "Not only can he defeat Hulk, he seems... to be trying to control the scale of the destruction and avoid killing Dr. Banner."

On the other end of the communication line, Nick Fury was silent for a moment before slowly saying, "Keep watching. Assess every detail about him. Especially that ability he used at the end, the one that turned his arm black."

On the battlefield, Lin Ye maintained the electromagnetic restraint, sensing Hulk's struggling gradually weaken as a trace of exhaustion and... fear began to mix into his rage.

He knew Dr. Banner's consciousness was about to return.

He raised his head, his gaze passing across the battlefield and landing precisely on General Ross's command vehicle. Through Mind Network, he sent his voice directly over:

"General Ross."

Ross shuddered as though struck by lightning.

"I'm taking over this big guy. Do you have a problem with that?"

His voice was calm, yet it carried unquestionable authority and... a faint threat.

(End of Chapter Four)